Biological sciences

A modified randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) procedure was used in differentiating seven dextran-producing Leuconostoc strains. The latter are lactic acid bacteria that produce extracellular polymers such as altneran, dextran and levan from sucrose metabolism. The RAPD method uses specific primers culled from conserved regions of the dextransucrase genes. It is a simpler approach than other methods that require time-consuming polymer structural analyses.

The gal genes for the leloir pathway of Lactobacillus casei 64H

Article Abstract:

A study was conducted to study the Leloir pathway from Lactobacillus casei 64H and to characterize the cloning and sequencing of the major part of the gal operon of L. casei. 64H was maintained in calcium carbonate-fortified litmus milk with glucose while chromosomal DNA was determined from L. casei. Results showed that galR is transcribed on policistronic messengers indicating that operons may be autoregulated.